Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Orders for durable goods in the U.S.
rose in December for an unprecedented fourth consecutive month,
indicating manufacturing will keep improving in 2013.

Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years
advanced 4.6 percent, exceeding the highest forecast of
economists surveyed by Bloomberg, after a 0.7 percent gain in
November, a Commerce Department report showed today in
Washington. Other figures signaled sales of existing homes may
cool, restrained by a lack of inventory.

American manufacturers from General Electric Co. to DuPont
Co. are among those benefitting from a pickup in global growth
that will probably keep assembly lines busy. Increasing demand
for communications gear and machinery also points to gains in
U.S. business spending that show company chiefs are looking
beyond the federal debate on ways to trim the budget deficit.

“The global backdrop has improved,” said Peter Newland,
an economist in New York for Barclays Plc. “There should be
much scope for businesses to contribute to growth.”

The median forecast of 76 economists surveyed by Bloomberg
called for a 2 percent advance in orders. Estimates ranged from
a decrease of 1.4 percent to a 4.5 percent increase.

December capped the first four-month gain in demand for
durable goods since comparable records began in 1992.

Pending home sales declined in December for the first time
since August, the National Association of Realtors reported
today. The index of contracts to buy previously owned homes fell
4.3 percent to 101.7 after a revised 1.6 percent increase in
November.

Survey Results

The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey projected no
change in the gauge. Compared with a year earlier, pending sales
before seasonal adjustment climbed 4.9 percent.

Stocks fell on the disappointing housing data. The Standard
& Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.2 percent to 1,500.18 at the close
in New York. The S&P Supercomposite Machinery Index, which
includes Caterpillar Inc. and Deere & Co., climbed 0.3 percent
to close at an almost two-year high.

The durable goods data were boosted by a 56.4 percent surge
in bookings for military aircraft, according to the Commerce
Department’s report.

Excluding demand for transportation equipment, which is
often volatile, orders increased 1.3 percent, also beating the
median projection which called for a 0.8 percent advance.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a
proxy for future business investment in items like computers,
engines and communications gear, increased 0.2 percent following
gains of 3 percent in November and October. The advance over the
past three months was the biggest since mid-2011.

Growth Impact

Shipments of those goods, used in calculating gross
domestic product, increased 0.3 percent after rising 2.2 percent
the prior month, more than previously estimated. Sales climbed
for three consecutive months, the longest stretch of gains since
mid-2011.

A report on Jan. 30 will probably show GDP expanded at a
1.1 percent annual pace in the final quarter of 2012, helped by
growth in consumer spending, corporate investment and housing,
according to the Bloomberg survey median. Capital spending
dropped at a 2.6 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the
first decline in more than three years.

Automobile purchases remain a source of strength for
factories. Cars and light trucks sold at a 15.3 million annual
rate in December after 15.5 million the prior month, the best
back-to-back showing since early 2008, according to Ward’s
Automotive Group.

Auto Demand

Rising demand for plastics used in autos helped DuPont, the
biggest U.S. chemical maker by market value, to report fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates. The company,
based in Wilmington, Delaware, also said sales in 2013 will
climb to $36 billion from $34.8 billion.

“The U.S. is experiencing a weak recovery with bright
spots and pent-up demand for housing and autos,” Chief
Executive Officer Ellen Kullman said on a Jan. 22 earnings call.

Manufacturers are also gaining from improving overseas
markets led by China, where economic growth accelerated in the
fourth quarter for the first time in two years.

General Electric’s fourth-quarter profit topped analysts’
estimates as demand in emerging markets fueled the aviation and
health-care divisions, which helped build a record $210 billion
order backlog for the Fairfield, Connecticut-based company.

“We saw real strength in the emerging markets and the
developed regions stabilized,” Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey
Immelt said on a Jan. 18 conference call. GE “entered 2013 with
substantial momentum” following “solid order growth in five of
the six businesses,” he said.

Growing Profits

“We’re encouraged by recent improvements in economic
indicators, but remain cautious,” Chief Executive Officer Doug
Oberhelman said in a statement.

Businesses still face the risk that lawmakers fail to avert
across-the-board government spending cuts scheduled to begin
March 1, even after the fiscal pact passed by Congress on Jan. 1
avoided sweeping tax increases that had threatened to crimp
consumer spending.

The report from the real-estate agents’ group signaled the
housing rebound is starting to face hurdles. The NAR said a
decline in the number of homes on the market is holding back
sales after the best year for the industry since 2007.

Home Sales

Sales of existing homes unexpectedly dropped in December,
restrained by the lowest supply of properties in more than a
decade, the Realtors group reported last week. Purchases fell 1
percent to a 4.94 million annual rate last month.

“The supply limitation appears to be the main factor
holding back contract signings in the past month,” Lawrence
Yun, the Realtors group’s chief economist, said in a statement
today. “Buyer interest remains solid.”

Cheaper borrowing costs, improving property values and job
gains may combine to drive gains in housing demand, a source of
strength for the expansion.